HOSPITAL TRUSTEE TRIES TO HALT BANKRUPTCY

Bruce Japsen, Tribune Staff WriterCHICAGO TRIBUNE

A trustee on the board of Doctors Hospital of Hyde Park tried unsuccessfully Tuesday to stop the facility from filing for bankruptcy, saying he and other trustees also don't support the owner's decision to close the hospital.

Board member Cleveland Walker said he and 18 other hospital trustees were notified Monday afternoon via fax by hospital owner Dr. James Desnick that he plans to close the South Side facility by Thursday and seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection for it.

Desnick, a widely known eye-care physician, could not be reached for comment.

Other trustees include Rev. Willie Barrow, chairwoman of the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition; state Senate Democratic Leader Emil Jones of Chicago; Rev. Michael Pfleger of St. Sabina Church; and former Chicago Mayor Eugene Sawyer, according to a Doctors Hospital news release.

"[This] did not have the support of the board," Walker told Judge Carol Doyle in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.

"The board knew nothing about this. The [bankruptcy] petition should be withdrawn."

Doyle, however, ordered the bankruptcy proceeding to begin. But she told Walker he is "free to bring" motions before the court once proceedings begin Wednesday.

Walker said he was unable to be represented by a lawyer because he didn't find out about the hospital's intention to file for bankruptcy until about 2 p.m. Monday via a fax. By then, Walker said, he didn't have time to notify other board members or attempt to stop Desnick from moving to close the hospital and pursuing bankruptcy proceedings.

Attorneys for Doctors said the hospital "didn't have a penny to do anything," and needed to begin bankruptcy proceedings so the facility's more than 800 full- and part-time workers could be paid. Doctors Hospital attorney John Costello told the judge he "was quite certain" the board was notified.

Efforts to reach Barrow, Pfleger and Jones for comment were unsuccessful.

The hospital, which admits about 8,000 patients annually for inpatient care at 5800 S. Stony Island Ave., has transferred most of its remaining patients to neighboring hospitals on the South Side, the hospital said.

Under Desnick's watch, Doctors Hospital paid $4.5 million to settle government charges of overbilling the federal Medicare and Medicaid insurance programs.

In recent months, Desnick has tried to sell or donate the hospital to non-profit community groups on the South Side, according to documents filed with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board.

The hospital has nearly $60 million in debt, according to state records.